Monster in the Closet Reviews

Funnier than it has any right to be, MONSTER IN THE CLOSET is an affectionate parody of the low-budget science-fiction and horror films of the 1950s, with several jabs at Hitchcock, Spielberg, and even KING KONG. Set in San Francisco, the movie begins with a precredits sequence in which a college coed, an old blind man (John Carradine), and a small child are yanked into their closets, never to return (no blood or gore here, just clothes spewing out of the closets). Hapless obit reporter Richard Clark (Donald Grant) is assigned to cover the strange disappearances. During his investigation, Clark meets sexy biology professor Diane Bennett (Denise DuBarry) and her precocious young son, "The Professor" (Paul Walker). Several celebrity guest-star murders later, the monster finally reveals itself to be a tall, ugly creature with a huge, gaping mouth. The Army, led by the blustering General Turnbull (Donald Moffat), blasts away at the creature, but the shells have no effect and the creature wanders over to the nearest closet. Enter Dr. Pennyworth (Henry Gibson, playing his role straight--just like those ultraserious 1950s sci-fi movie scientists), who attempts to coax the monster out of hiding by playing musical notes (a la CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND) on a child's xylophone. When this fails, the only thing left to do is to alert the public to "Destroy All Closets!" Scattershot and sophomoric in approach, MONSTER IN THE CLOSET somehow manages to generate enough chuckles to sustain interest. Kevin Peter Hall, who played the monsters in HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS and PREDATOR, takes on the same role here. Luckily for director Bob Dahlin, his distributor, Troma, allowed him to produce a surprisingly tame picture. Any gore or nudity would have taken this film out of the realm of goofy innocence and driven it right into the arena of tasteless exploitation.